I Remember You
by fightforAllTheWrongReasons
Summary: Two years ago, Damon and Elena broke up. When he left Mystic Falls, he had hoped to save Elena from living the dangerous life of dating a vampire. When they finally see each other again, can they put the past behind them?
1. Prologue: Walking Hand in Hand

**A/N: This story idea just kind of randomly popped into my head. It's Damon/Elena and it's based off of "I Remember You" by Skid Row. If you've ever heard the song, you should kind of have an idea of where this will be going. This is TV!Verse where Damon is a vampire and Elena is human—for now. Ignore anything that happened in Season Three after Stefan came back. There will be a HEA, but it will take a while to get there. I own nothing!**

**Summary: Two years ago, Damon and Elena broke up. When he left Mystic Falls, he had hoped to save Elena from living the dangerous life of dating a vampire. When they finally see each other again, can they put the past behind them? **

**Now, away we go….**

**I Remember You**

_Prologue: Walking Hand in Hand_

It was dark and stormy that night, Elena knew that much. The rain came down so hard it felt like thousands of pins sticking into her skin. The wind plastered her hair to her face and upper arms, and she constantly tried to pick fallen leaves off of her skin. She pounded on the door of the Boarding House, shivering and soaked to the bone. "Damon! Come on, open the door. Talk to me, please?"

After waiting for two minutes and not getting a response, Elena rang the doorbell. _Come on, open the door. Just open the door,_ she begged in her mind, knowing he wouldn't be able to hear her. "Damon Salvatore! Please, let me in. Don't shut me out. It was an accident. You didn't mean it. I'm okay. Just, please…" Elena's shouting turned into sobs as her pounding on the door grew weak. After taking a deep breath and regaining her focus, Elena roughly wiped the tears out of her eyes and tried the door handle. She found the door unlocked and walked into the big house. For the first time in a long while, the space seemed cold to her.

There were no lights on, only the fire slowly dying out in the hearth. Checking in the living room, everything was where it should be—the bottles, the glasses, all of the books. But when she looked towards the couch, expecting to see Damon sitting there staring blankly at the fire, all she found was a note on the cushion instead of his familiar form. The letter was written on elegant paper. Folded in half, it sat propped up with Elena's name scrawled on the front of it in fancy script. With shaking hands, she picked it up and read it slowly to herself—once, twice, and then three times—just to make sure that what she read was true.

_Elena, _

_By the time you read this, I'll be gone. It's the right thing to do. I'm selfish by nature, but I never should have let myself be selfish with you. You will never know how sorry I am for hurting you. All of your stuff is sitting on your bed at home, and I compelled Jeremy to bring my things to me yesterday while you were at school. Please don't look for me. Just forget me. Do whatever you have to do. Have Caroline compel you to forget me, to forget all of us. It's safer for you this way. Just know this: even if you forget about me, I will never be able to forget you and the pain I put you through. I love you, and I'm sorry._

_Damon_

Elena put her left hand on her heart, her right dropping the letter and moving to her mouth, trying to muffle the sounds that she thought were coming out of her throat. She collapsed onto the Persian rug, tears streaming down her face as silent sobs wracked her body. Elena could only remember one other time where she had felt this much pain and hurt, and that was when her parents had died.

Somehow, she managed to lift her phone and call Matt to pick her up, knowing that he wouldn't make her speak about it right away. She didn't want to _talk_ right now. She just wanted to sit in her room and slowly slip into oblivion. As she waited for Matt to answer his phone, she thought she saw something—or someone—at the window out of the corner of her eye, but when she turned back to look again, it was gone.

"Hey, this is Matt. Sorry I can't get to my phone. I'm not available right now, so leave a message." Not waiting for the beep, Elena ended the call and just decided to walk home. She hoped that the cold air would give her some time to clear her mind. Maybe her tears would mix with the rain, and no one at her house would be any wiser about what had just happened to her.

Walking turned out to be a bad idea because as she walked, she thought her situation. _Is this really just about what happened? I know he didn't mean to hurt me. I told him that. I thought he understood. It was an accident. He's a vampire, and I was bleeding. It was bound to happen at some point. I have to get him back. I can't do this without him._

Elena was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of a truck pulling up beside her. She turned her head and saw Matt and Tyler in the cab, both of them staring at her like she was crazy, along with concern on their faces.

Matt rolled down the window gaping at Elena, "Elena, what the hell? You do know that we're in a freaking Tropical Storm warning, right? What are you doing out here?" Matt questioned her, stopping his truck and getting out. "Seriously 'Lena, what's wrong?"

Elena just shook her head and buried her face into his chest, refusing to admit what happened, "He…he's…Damon's…" She couldn't bring herself to say it, so she just continued to cry. "Matt, can you just take me back to your house? I can't be at home right now."

Matt shared a worried look with Tyler before turning back to Elena. "I don't know, Elena. Can't you just tell me what's wrong?"

"I'll tell you later. Promise. Right now I'm just…r…r…really c…c…co…col…cold," Elena said, her teeth chattering the entire time and her little body shaking from the lack of heat.

Matt nodded and hugged her tightly. "Okay, but I have to drop Tyler off first."

Elena looked up at Matt with bleary, red-rimmed eyes and gave a slight nod. "Sure. That's fine."

Once they were in the truck—Elena sitting in between the two boys—she finally let herself really process what had just happened to her. _Damon left without a word. He just left me a note. Did he really ever love me?_ As she started to fall asleep, Matt wrapped his arm around her tightly. Elena let out one last strangled sob before sleep enveloped her.

&&&###&&&###&&&###

Damon had seen everything, and it broke his cold, dead heart. He watched her pounding on the door, crying as she rang the doorbell. He'd heard her pleas for him to open the door and talk to her. What killed him the most was the look on her face as she read the letter he left for her. He realized it was a heartless thing to do, but he knew even better that if he tried to do it in person, one look into her big brown doe eyes and he wouldn't be able to do it. He had to leave her. It was for her own safety.

What happened that night never should have happened in the first place, and now he was making sure that it would never happen again. Elena might have believed it was an accident and that it was bound to happen at some point, but Damon knew that on some level, it wasn't a mistake. There was some sick part of him—the completely vampire part of him that had lived with his humanity turned off for too many years—that was begging for her to get hurt so he would have an easy excuse to taste her blood.

He watched as Matt and Tyler picked her up from the side of the road. Damon almost thought that Tyler was going to give away his hiding spot in the woods, but Tyler merely glared at him and growled so low only Damon could hear before helping Matt put Elena in the truck.

After Damon was sure that Elena was safe, he ran. He wasn't sure how long he ran or how far. All he knew was he was putting major distance between himself and Mystic Falls, and he would be damned if he ever went back there again.

**A/N: Well, what do you think? This is just the prologue, even though it is kind of a long prologue. Oh well. The whole reason behind Damon leaving will be fully revealed next chapter. I'm thinking about having Tyler and Elena form a pretty decent friendship in this story. I really love Tyler and don't think he gets enough credit.**


	2. Chapter One: Where Are You Now

**A/N: Wow! Thank you all so much for the reviews and alerts. They blew me away. I also need to give a super big shout out to Heather aka hmmille for helping me with this chapter. **

**I Remember You**

_Chapter One: Where Are You Now?_

_**Two Years Later…**_

At the Grill, Elena sighed longingly and stirred her drink with pretended contentment while her friends, Matt, Tyler, and Bonnie, danced and joked around with one another. It had been two years since Damon left, and Elena still felt the sting of pain every day. If you asked Matt or Bonnie, Elena got over Damon a few months after he left her. It did irk her a little bit that the two people she considered her best friends couldn't figure out just how bad she was still hurting.

Tyler nudged Elena's shoulder gently and gave her a look as if to ask her if she was okay. Nodding at him slightly, she let out a forced laugh at something Matt said, going along with everyone else in the group. If she was being totally honest with herself and her friends, she wanted to ignore this entire day and just go home and curl up on her bed watching sad movies. It had been two years to the day, and it hadn't gotten any easier for her.

"Hey guys, I think I'm going to take off, okay? I have a big paper due Monday morning that I still need to work on." Elena stood up and started gathering her things, hoping she could get out of the restaurant before anyone registered the real reason she was leaving. She was almost out the door when she heard an annoyed sigh come from one of her group of friends. Stiffening slightly, Elena stopped and slowly turned around, crossing her arms in front of her.

Bonnie was the one who spoke up first. "Come on Elena," she scoffed. "I know what's going on. You're hoping he'll come back, aren't you? Do you think he's going to be magically sitting on your doorstep waiting for you? That he's going to have flowers and some big grand gesture to show you how sorry he is? Newsflash—he's not, okay? He's _Damon,_he probably found somebody else that has pretty brown hair and brown eyes to toy with. I thought you were over this, over him."

Bonnie's tone was scathing and it cut Elena to her core, hearing someone who claimed to be her best friend talking like Elena hadn't been hurt deeply by Damon's abandonment. She clenched her jaw and felt tears stinging her eyes, but Elena fought them back, refusing to be weak. "Well, I thought you weren't a bitch about this anymore, Bonnie. But apparently, we're both wrong. I'm sorry that there's no time limit on this. You didn't like Damon, I get it. But you don't have to make that displeasure known every single day. So, if once a year I want to be sad and cry, let me. Is that okay? "

Matt and Tyler glared at Bonnie, trying to guilt her into saying that she's sorry. "I'm not apologizing. She needs a reality check. He _left_her, remember? He skipped town without a word. I just don't get why she still cares, he obviously didn't."

"I care because I still love him. And how _dare_you try to put an expiration date on this? You don't actually know what happened. _No one _knows what happened. So, you know what, Bonnie? Until you can try to understand me and where I'm coming from, you can consider this friendship over."

Elena wrapped her arms around her waist tightly and let the tears fall, leaving streaks of mascara and eyeliner on her face. "Tyler, can you please take me home? I don't think I can drive right now."

Tyler nodded and helped Elena into her jacket. "Yeah, 'Lena. Come on, we'll take my truck, and you can pick up your car tomorrow." He glared at Bonnie one last time before ushering Elena out the door.

Once they were outside, Elena let her tears fall more freely, sobbing almost uncontrollably. "I'm sorry Tyler. I didn't mean to ruin everything. I just…I couldn't do it anymore tonight." She wiped the smudged makeup off of her face and sniffled.

"You don't have to apologize. Do you want me to call Jeremy or Ric to see if they're home?" Tyler asked as he opened Elena's door for her. "I worry about you being alone sometimes."

"No, I don't want either of them to know. They both have their own lives. I think I'll be okay tonight on my own," Elena whispered and got into the truck, bringing her knees to her chest and staring out the window, letting the memories of the last two years flood back to her.

Tyler glanced over at Elena as he started the truck, the tear tracks on her face illuminated by the soft glow from the street lamp. Taking her hand in his and squeezing it gently, concern was written all over his face as he gazed straight into her eyes when she turned toward him. "Do you _really_want to be alone, or are you just saying that because you think that's what you should say? Are you going to call me later on tonight, asking to pick you up because you've walked too far away from home?"

Elena shook her head and turned away from him, staring out the window into the general blackness, catching quick glances of the houses they were driving past. "Ty, no. I really do want to be alone tonight, I think. I'll probably take a walk. You know I always do. Sometimes I don't even know I'm doing it. I wonder, more often than not, where he is. If he's found someone else better than me, if he's forgotten about me or if he even misses me. I can let myself believe that if I know those answers, I can learn to let him go." She looked at Tyler and spoke so low that he could barely hear her, even with the super-hearing. "I wrote him a letter a few months ago. It was returned—unopened. _'Refused. Return to Sender'_ was written on the outside of the envelope. It was the _one time_ Bonnie helped me find him. He didn't want to read it, he really doesn't love me anymore," she sobbed, and it was almost cathartic.

She noticed that the truck wasn't running anymore, and looked up at her house through bleary eyes. "I can't be here tonight, Tyler. Can I just go in and grab some clothes, and then stay at your place?" She bit her lip, a pleading look in her eyes.

Tyler nodded, kissing Elena's forehead before getting out of the truck and helping her out. "Come on, I'll even let you force me to watch girly movies if it'll make you feel better." Tyler looked down as they walked up the steps to Elena's house, trying to figure out the best way to phrase his question. "Elena, why didn't you ever tell Bonnie or Matt what really happened, or show them that letter? You know they would have understood, right?"

Elena nodded. "No, only Matt would have understood. Bonnie would have told me I was better off without him. You know she would have gone after him for hurting me and killed him if I told her. Matt would have tried to actually _kill_Damon for the accident. It was just easier to let them both think he left in the middle of the night with no explanation." Elena shrugged. "I'm gonna go upstairs and grab some stuff. I'll be right back down, make yourself at home." Elena was almost at the top of the stairs when she turned back around and looked at Tyler, giving him a half smile. "Thank you for never telling them. And thank you for letting me stay with you tonight. It means a lot."

**&&&###&&&###&&&###**

After half an hour of Elena being upstairs, Tyler grew concerned and went to check on her. The light was on in her bedroom, and he knocked on the door quietly. "Elena," he whispered as he slowly opened the door. "You okay?" Looking over toward the bed, Elena was asleep, tear stains on her cheeks. Shaking his head sadly, Tyler gently picked Elena up and covered her with the blanket. While he sat on the edge of her bed and ran his fingers absentmindedly through her hair, he remembered the day that their friendship grew into something more substantial than mere acquaintances, or childhood friends that ran in the same group.

_It was one week after Matt and Tyler had found Elena wandering around after Damon had left her. Elena had been spending more time with Matt lately, trying to occupy her mind and do everything but what reminded her of Damon. Tyler saw Elena walking into the woods and decided to follow her, knowing that she would find_some way _to get herself hurt. Tyler stayed far enough behind Elena that she wouldn't sense him, but he could still see her and make sure that she was okay. It seemed like she had lost weight, her already thin body losing almost all of its curves, and her hair seemed to have lost its luster. Tyler watched with curious eyes as Elena abruptly turned and started deeper into the woods._

"_Damon, if you get this, please call me. We need to talk. I love you," Elena said into her phone, and Tyler could hear the pain and desperation in her voice. He watched as Elena sat down and stared at a cut on her arm that seemed pretty recent. _

_Sighing, Tyler sat next to her quietly. "What happened to your arm?__That looks pretty nasty," he commented, afraid to ask the obvious question of who bit her. _

_Jumping slightly, Elena stared blankly ahead while answering him. "Damon almost drained me. That's why he left." Elena looked up at Tyler with despair in her eyes. "He left me a letter on his couch. He couldn't even tell me in person. He fled town while I was busy. First Stefan, and now him? What did I do, Tyler? Why do the people I love always leave?"_

_Tyler felt himself growing livid as he heard why Elena was so upset. She looked so small and broken. He wanted to take all the pain away from her, but he knew that he couldn't. Tyler found himself wishing that he knew where Damon was, and how fast and painful a vampire's death could be with multiple werewolf bites. Tyler had known Elena since they were both in preschool, and he became angry at the thought of someone doing this to her. They had been through so much together during that time, and he was afraid of just how much more Elena could take before she broke completely. "Why did he do it—almost drain you?"_

"_He was showing me how to defend myself just in case Klaus or Stefan came back and he wasn't there to protect me. I don't really remember what happened. All I know is that one minute I was fine, and the next, I had a huge cut on my arm and my boyfriend sinking his fangs into my skin," Elena said, looking down._

Hearing Elena start to whimper in her sleep, Tyler gently shook her and whispered into her ear, "Elena, wake up. It's just a bad dream. You're okay."

"No, no, no. Don't go…just…back…come back," Elena mumbled before letting out a heart-wrenching sob that almost brought Tyler to tears.

"Honey, come on. It's just a dream. I promise you're okay." Tyler rocked Elena back and forth, trying to coax her out of her nightmare. He knew exactly what it was about. She had the same nightmare almost every night for two years.

After what seemed like hours, Elena opened her eyes and sat up abruptly. "Ty?" she asked, rubbing her eyes, "What time is it? Did I fall asleep? Wha…" she started rambling and looked up at Tyler sheepishly. "Sorry for falling asleep. You didn't have to stay. You can go home now. I'll be fine."

Tyler shook his head. "Why wouldn't I stay? You're my best friend. It's my job to protect you. And please," he rolled his eyes at her, "like I'm leaving you alone now. You're coming with me. Let's go." He tugged on her hand and lead her down the stairs and out to his truck.

"Wait, I need clothes, Tyler. I can't sleep in my jeans." Elena tried to stall and convince Tyler to let her go back into her house.

"Really, that's the excuse you're going to use? That you need clothes? I believe you still have a drawer full of clothes at my house. What's really going on Elena?" Tyler stopped in the middle of the driveway and put his hands on her shoulders, drawing her body to his.

Elena sighed and flushed with embarrassment, "You're mom doesn't like me. She always glares at me when I'm over. I don't think she's forgotten that first night I stayed over there." Elena laughed a little bit.

"Please, my mom loves you. You know that."

**&&&###&&&###&&&###**

The next morning Elena woke with a start, confused and disoriented. The events of the night before came rushing back to her and she groaned, covering her face with the pillow. Checking her cell phone for the time, she bolted up. "Shit! I'm so late," she exclaimed, rushing around trying to gather her things. Elena felt like she was forgetting something important and looked down. "Pants! Where are my pants?"

T-shirt, jacket, and shoes in hand, Elena opened the door to the Lockwood's guest bedroom getting ready to find Tyler and ask him if he hid her pants _again_. She halted in her tracks when she saw Mrs. Lockwood on the other side of the door, glaring at her. "Hello, Elena. Leaving before breakfast?" Her look was accusatory and made Elena shrink back.

"Actually, Mrs. Lockwood, I was. Unfortunately, I'm running late to meet Caroline, and she's probably freaking out. I was just trying to find my pants, I think Tyler has them," Elena tried to explain, blushing slightly.

"I see. Well, don't let me stop you." Mrs. Lockwood nodded harshly and moved out of the way.

"Thank you," Elena muttered, scurrying around Mrs. Lockwood, keeping her head down. Once she was sure that Mrs. Lockwood couldn't see her anymore, Elena ran down the hall and pounded on Tyler's door until he opened it. When the door finally opened, Elena stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at Tyler. "Give me my jeans back, now!" she practically growled through clenched teeth.

"Hey, Elena. Good morning to you, too. How did you sleep? Me? I slept fine, thanks for asking," Tyler muttered under his breath sarcastically but stopped talking when he saw the murderous expression on her face. "You saw my mom didn't you."

Elena nodded. "Yeah,and she looked at me like I was something bad that she stepped in. I told you, she _hates _me, Tyler." She walked into his room and flopped down on his bed, sighing dramatically. "So, my pants, where are they?"

Tyler shrugged. "In the dryer, I think. I know how you like nice, warm clothes."

Elena smiled brightly at him. "Thank you, Ty. That was really thoughtful of you. You're the best." She patted the spot on the bed next to her. "Come on, lie back down. It's only 8:30, and I know you don't wake up before eleven on the weekend."

**&&&###&&&###**

A few hours later, Elena woke up to the sound of her phone ringing. "Hello?" she answered groggily, not bothering to check her Caller I.D.

"_Elena, where are you? You're late!" _

"Caroline, stop yelling," Elena said as she winced and pulled the phone away from her ear.

"_Sorry, but you said you would meet me at nine. It is now 11:45. Where are you?"_

Elena sighed and tried to roll out of bed to continue her conversation with Caroline away from Tyler, who was still sleeping. "Hold on Caroline. Give me a second to wake up." She lifted Tyler's arm off of her gently and started to get up when she felt Tyler grab her hand.

"Where are you going? Stay and sleep some more," Tyler mumbled with one eye open.

"_Who was _that_? Are you with Tyler right now? Really, Elena, what the hell?"_

"Caroline. Calm down, nothing happened. I had a really bad fight with Bonnie and I couldn't be alone—" Elena explained quickly, but Caroline cut her off before she could finish.

"_I don't care, Elena. You should have called me. I would have helped you, you know that." _

Before Elena could reply, Caroline ended the phone call. "Good job, Tyler, she's officially mad at me too," Elena snapped at him and stood up. She padded over to the window and looked down at the driveway. "Good, your mom is gone. I'm just going to go grab my jeans, and then I'll leave."

Tyler groaned in frustration. "Elena, stop. I'm sorry. Don't leave, at least have lunch first."

Elena nodded. "Fine but only because I'm hungry, I'm still going to be annoyed with you. Let me call Jeremy and let him know so he doesn't worry." Walking out of the room with her phone attached to her ear, Elena quickly walked down the steps to the laundry room and grabbed her jeans out of the dryer. When Jeremy's phone went straight to voicemail, she shrugged and tried Alaric's phone. The mild concern she felt when she found out Jeremy's phone was off grew tenfold when Alaric's phone also went straight to voicemail. "Tyler!" she yelled, running up the stairs, "Tyler, call Matt and Bonnie. It's an emergency." She burst into Tyler's room with tears in her eyes.

"Elena, what's wrong? Why do I need to call Matt _and_ Bonnie? Didn't you just tell Bonnie last night that your friendship was over?"

Elena shook her head slightly, "What happened last night doesn't matter right now. Something's wrong and I need her help to figure out what it is."

Tyler looked at her with concern. "Is Jeremy okay?"

Elena shook her head. "I don't know. His phone went right to voicemail, and so did Ric's. I know it could be nothing. But knowing our history, it's probably something. If anything happens to one of them I'll never forgive myself," she rambled on, shaking her head in disbelief and letting a fresh wave of tears stream down her face.

Tyler hugged Elena close to him, kissing the top of her head. "Just breathe, Elena. It'll be fine. I promise. I'll call Matt and Bonnie, okay? You just sit tight. Want me to call Caroline too?"

Elena shook her head. "No. I don't want her to know. She doesn't need to know this. It'll be best if we keep this quiet for now. If Caroline finds out, she'll tell her mom, and once her mom finds out…" Elena paused and looked up at Tyler, speaking quietly, "Once her mom finds out, who knows who will come back into town to save the day. I can't have that, Tyler. I can't have him coming back just to leave me again."

Tyler rubbed Elena's back in comforting circles. "It'll be okay. I promise I won't let him ruin your life again." He felt torn as he made his promise to Elena, praying that he wouldn't break it.

**A/N: Well, what'd you all think? Love it or hate it let me know! Title credit for this chapter goes to Britney Spears and the songs I listened to on repeat during this chapter were: "Ghost of You" by Good Charlotte, "Bottom of the Ocean" by Miley Cyrus and "Breakeven" by the Script.**


	3. Chapter Two: Searching

**A/N: Hey, long time no write. I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to get this updated. I know I suck. I was really having an issue getting this posted, and I had a stupid plot bunny in my head that wouldn't leave me alone, so I had to get that written before I could even think about this. The plot bunny will be posted here as well as on a couple other places if you want to read it. It's an outtake of the reason why Carol Lockwood hates Elena. So, if you're interested let me know. Also, reviews have been kind of slow for this story, but there are quite a few likes/follows. So please, let me know what you think of it. Last but not least, I own nothing! **

**I Remember You**

_Chapter Two: Searching_

While Tyler was busy calling Matt and Bonnie, Elena was busy calling Jeremy's cell phone over and over again trying to see if maybe he would _finally _pick up. Thinking back to the past week Elena realized that she really hadn't heard from Jeremy or Ric. They all lead pretty busy lives but made sure to check in once a night with each other. She had heard from the both of them last Monday, letting her know that they had tickets to some sporting event a few towns over so they wouldn't be home that night. After that, neither of them had called or texted her and she hadn't called them either.

Pacing Tyler's room Elena tried to not listen to his conversation with Bonnie, but it was hard when she could hear Bonnie screaming on the other end. She couldn't catch everything that was said, but she caught some words like 'Why should I bother?' 'Only wants to be my friend when it's convenient.' and 'I'm not doing this for _her_.' Elena heard Tyler end the phone call quickly after that statement and he turned to her, frustration at the last conversation evident on his face.

"Matt will be here in fifteen minutes. He has to get someone to cover at the Grill for him," Tyler told Elena, pausing for a moment to figure out the best way to tell her about what Bonnie had said. "Bonnie doesn't want to help. She's mad about what you said last night. She told me that she'll help figure out where Jeremy is and that's it. She doesn't want to be a part of this." Tyler finished, gauging Elena's reaction.

Elena nodded her head slowly, taking in Tyler's words. "I figured Bonnie wouldn't want to help. So, where should we start?" She asked, her voice cracking with the tears that she was holding back. Elena squeezed her eyes shut, willing the tears not to fall. She just wanted to get her brother back. He was the only family that she had left, and if anything happened to him, Elena didn't know what she would do with herself.

Tyler looked at Elena and felt his heart break at her expression. Her eyes had lost what little bit of life had come back into them and she just looked like she was trying to disappear. Elena had her arms wrapped around her waist tightly, and she had hunched her shoulders over so far, it looked like she was trying to fold herself in half. "Hey, we'll find them. I promise," he told her quietly while walking over to her and pulling her into a tight hug. Tyler felt Elena slowly unwrap her arms from around her waist and hug him back.

"What if we don't? What if we can't find them on our own?" She asked quietly.

Tyler heard the unspoken question Elena was asking him; '_what if we have to call _him_ to help us?'_ and he felt himself getting angry all over again at how broken his best friend had become. "We _will _find them. Between all of us, Jeremy and Ric will be fine. And don't forget, those guys are two of the strongest guys either of us knows. They're probably kicking ass trying to get back here. So don't worry, okay?"

Elena nodded and mumbled "Yeah, I guess so," in response. She stood wrapped in Tyler's arms just trying not to break down and cry until they separated when they heard a knock at the door downstairs.

"That's probably Matt," Tyler said, glancing at his cell phone and noticing that almost twenty minutes had passed since he called Matt, "Do you want to stay up here and meet us down in the office in a few minutes?" He asked gently.

Elena shook her head, "No, I'll come down with you. It's best if we can get started as soon as possible."

**&&&###&&&###&&&###**

**Damon**

Damon had kept himself well hidden for the past two years. He may have written in his letter that he was leaving Mystic Falls, but after his brief trip away when he first left, Damon found that he couldn't stay away from Mystic Falls. He was still drawn to the town, to Elena. So after wallowing in his own misery and drinking so much Bourbon that people were beginning to think he had stock in the beverage for two months, he ran back to Virginia. He found a little house a few towns away from Mystic Falls, and by day he would stay hidden, never knowing who would be lurking around. At night, he would watch Elena. Sometimes he felt like that creepy dude from those vampire books, watching a young woman sleep while she had no idea.

If someone were to ask him why he still hung around after two years, he might lie and say it had something to do with the fact that there was an Original Vampire still lurking around. Oh, and let's not forget Damon's brother who was conveniently compelled to turn his humanity off by said Original Vampire. People would very easily believe that he was hanging around _just in case _Klaus and Stefan decided to show up in Mystic Falls. The real reason Damon stayed, and sometimes he could barely admit it to himself, was that he wanted to know if Elena ever found happiness after him.

It comforted Damon though, knowing that Elena was safe and being looked after. He would watch when she was out with Bonnie and Caroline, laughing and smiling. He would feel a little smile come to his face when he saw her playing COD with Jeremy, Matt and Ric into the wee hours of the morning, kicking ass and taking names. Damon could _almost _make himself believe that he didn't feel guilty over what he had done to her. He says _almost _because then there are the nights where she calls Tyler at two o'clock in the morning, crying because she can't sleep or because she just woke up from _another _nightmare from that night.

Looking back on the past two years, Damon didn't know why he hadn't showed back up on Elena's doorstep begging for forgiveness with a bouquet of roses. It was clear that she still loved him, and God knows he still loved her. Even when she would go out with Matt, that twinkle never reached her eyes the way it did when they were together.

Last night was a hard night. For Elena and himself. Last night marked the two year anniversary of when he shattered both of their hearts, just so he could make sure that she would stay safe. He watched from a back alleyway while she was in the Grill with Matt, Bonnie and Tyler. He saw the laughter that was just a little to overdone, the smiles that never reached her eyes. He noticed how she would check her watch every few minutes and sigh deeply when she realized that she couldn't make a graceful exit yet. Damon growled lowly when he heard Bonnie and her arguing. The fact that Bonnie could tell Elena some of the things she did, made Damon remember exactly why he hated the Bennett witch.

Damon almost showed up on Elena's porch that night, begging for forgiveness. He was halfway out of the shadows when he noticed that she was in Tyler's truck and that Tyler was walking her up to the front door. _I should have known, _Damon thought, _it was only a matter of time before Elena gave him a chance. _Damon ran away from Elena's house before he could do anything that would ruin her life anymore than he already had and when he reached his house, he just kept running. He ran until he was in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He would have kept running, and only stopped and turned back around because he heard whisperings about Mystic Falls, and the doppelganger.

**&&&###&&&###&&&###**

**Elena **

It had been almost two weeks since Jeremy and Ric went missing. There hadn't been any leads on figuring out where they were, and everyone's patience was wearing thin, Elena's more than anyone's. Right now, she was pacing Matt's kitchen, while Bonnie was trying _another _locater spell, "It didn't work the last fifty times Bonnie, what makes you think it'll work this time?" Elena snapped at her ex-best friend.

Bonnie sighed in frustration and resisted the urge to storm out of the house, reminding herself that she was doing this to save Jeremy, "Well, _Elena_, if someone wasn't being so ungrateful and bitchy, the energy in the room would be better and I might have more success."

Elena groaned in frustration and walked into the living room, ignoring Bonnie's comment. Flopping down on the couch in between Matt and Tyler, she grabbed the remote out of Tyler's hand and changed the television from ESPN to VH1. "Oooh, Rock of Love, this show's funny." Elena laughed at one of the girls crazy antics trying to win the heart of Bret Michaels.

"Hey, we were watching the game highlights 'Lena. You can't just steal the remote whenever you want-" Tyler started to protest before Elena cut him off.

"Remember yesterday when I was watching a movie, and you two turned it off and then played X-Box for three hours?" She asked, looking between Tyler and Matt.

"Okay, you win," Tyler said, hanging his head in defeat, "But seriously 'Lena, do we need to go over sports TV etiquette again?"

Elena shook her head and smiled innocently, "No, I promise, never aga-" she was cut off by Bonnie yelling from the kitchen.

"Matt, Tyler, Elena! Get in here! I think I found something!"

Elena was the first one into the kitchen, Matt and Tyler following close behind her, "Well, what do you have?" She asked expectantly

Bonnie pushed the map she was staring at closer to Elena, "Tennessee. They're somewhere in Tennessee."

**A/N: That's it folks! Sorry it took so long to get this out. Hopefully next chapter will be up soon. This is unbeata'd, so I own all mistakes. Let me know what you think. Xoxo**


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